Brooder.



BROODER.

Specfication of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 6, 1910..

Applicaton filed. July 9, 1909. Seral 1\T0. 506,775.

T0 aZZ whom zt ma concern:

Be it known that I, l/VILLIAM T. FAUST, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brovverville, in the county of Todd and State of Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Broeders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to brooders, the object of the invention being to provide a simple, inexpensive and eflicient construction of brooder which may be taken apart for pack age in close compass for storage or shipment, which ernbodies a nevel construction and arrangement of doors for closing or opening the doorway of the brooder to different degrees, and in which novel means are provided for feeding and watering the hen and chicks.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in Wh10l12+ F igure 1 is a perspective view of a brooder constructed in accordance vvith my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical front to rear section through the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the watering trough. Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of F ig. 3. Fig. 6 is a cross section through one of the feed boxes. Fig. 7 is a horizont-al section on line 7-? of Fig. 2.

The body of the brooder is preferably of rectangular or oblong rectangular form and made of detachable sections of sheet metal, although it may be made of other suitable materal. It comprises a bottom 1, side walls 2 a front Wall 3 and a rear vvall 4:. The bottom vvall is provided at eaoh of its edges with a depending flange 5. The side flanges of this wall are slidably engaged by the lovver hooked or channeled edges 6 of the side walls, whicl1 latter are provided at their upper edges with outturned fianges 7 and 8 and at their front and rear edges vvitlo hooked flanges 9 and 10. The edges 9 are engaged by the hooked edges 11 of the front wall, which latter bears at its lower edge aganst the front flange of the base of the bottom vvall and is provided with a rear vvardly turned fiange 12 extending beneath the same and formed at its upper edge with a forvvardly projeoting flange 13. The r ear wall bears at its lovver edge against the rear flange of the bottom Wall and is provided with a rearvvardly extending flange 11, While the upper edge of said rear wall is forrned with a forvvardly extending inclined flange 15. The rear vvall is relatively shorter than the front vvall and the upper edges of the side walls are inclined to support the top or cover 16 at a dovvnvvard or rearward slope or angle to form a rain shed. The cover is provided at its side edges with hooked anges 17 to engage the flanges 7 of the side walls, and at its front edge with a hooked flange 18 to engage the flange 13 of the front wall, while the rear edge 19 of the cover is dovvnwardly bent and extends sufliciently be yond the rear vvall to coperate With the flange 15 in preventing access of rain water at this point and to form a perfect shed.

It Will be seen from the foregoing descript1on that the parts of the brooder thus far described are slidably connected, so that they may be conveniently assembled and disassernbled, allowing the brooder to be taken apart and packed in close compass for storage or transportation when occasion requires. The arrangement of the base flanges of the walls adapts the lovver hooked edges of the side walls, the base flange of the front wall, the front flange of the bottom Wall and the base flange of the rear Wall to lie in the same plane and rest upon the ground or floor to firrnly and stably support the brooder.

The side walls are provided vvith hand loops or grips 20 by vvhich the set up brooder may be conveniently lifted and transported, and one of said side walls is slitted to provide ventilation openings 21 and deflectors or partial closures 22 therefor, by Which a suficient amount of air is permitted to enter the brooder to keep the interior atmosphere in a vvholesome condition.

A doorway 23 is provided in the front Wall for the entrance and exit of the brood hen and chicks, and arranged horizontally across the front Wall above and below the line of the doorway are channeled strips 2 1 and 25 forming guidevvays, the upper strip being provided at each end vvith a downvvardly bent stop portion 26. Mounted for sliding movement at their upper and lovver edges in the guidevvays are doors 27 28 and 29. The door 27 consists of an mperforate body of sheet metal or other material of sufficient size to wholly close the doorway, and it is provided at one of its side edges with a flange 27 forming a stop and finger piece. The door 28 consists of a bp dyof wire or reticulated material of comparatively close 1nesh and is provided at one of its side edges with a similar flange 28 forming astop and finger piece. It will be understood that the door 27 when closed seals the doorway against the entrance of air and light and the passage of the hen and chioks,

= while the door 28 when closed permits o the passage of air and light, while preventing the passage of the hen and chicks. The door 29 consists of a grating having spaces between its'portions sufliciently large for the passage of the chicks, while preventing passage of the hen, which may be confined within the brooder without closing the doorwayagainst the ingress and egress of the chicks when they are allowed to run. shown, the door or grating 29 is preerably co1nposed of upper and lower strips 30 to which are fastened a series of spaced rods or pickets 31, the ends 30 of the strips 30 facing the flange 28 of the door 28 being outwardly curved to bear against the outer sides ofthe guideways and to perrnit passageoii the intermediate door 28 without interference. By the use of this series of dors the doorway 1nay be controlled as canines, rodents and other animals.

a tank 35 clos'ed against the entrance of air except at its lower forward end where it is provided with an outlet opening 3G. This opening communicates with a well or drinking chamber 37 on the lower front portion of the box, on which latter is also arranged a curved guard 38 overhangingthe inner portion of the well. The well and guard are adapted to project through the opening 32 into the brooder, the well resting upon the bottom wall 1 to assist in sup porting the trough in position. The trough is provided with a hooked suspending flange 39 atits upper forward edge to engage the hooked supporting strip 34, by which it is detachably suspended in position for use and in such manner as to permit of its ready removal. The function of the guard 38 is to prevent thehen from stopping into the vvell while permitting lier to insert herhead to drink. The trough is filled while turned back to a horizontal position through the well 37 and opening36, so that when it is restored to a vertical position the pressure tation.

of the air from without on the surface of the body of water in the well will 1naintain the water therein at a desired level and pern1it a suflicient amount to feed from the trongh to compensate for that consumed and that lost by evaporation. At the sides of the opening 32 s1 rips 40 are arranged and form guidways for a sliding door, not shown, which may be applied to close the opening while the removed trough is being refillel The opei1ings 33 are designed to receive wells or boxes 41 projectng forwardly from the lower ends of feed troughs 42, each of which troughs is formed with an outlet 43 for the feed by gravity of the food stuf contained therein to the box 41 as it is gradually consu1i1ed.

The feed boxes are supported in a similar manner to the wateringtrough, each extending at its base through the opening 33 and resting on the wall 1, and being provided at its upper forward edge with a hoek 4-4 to engage the hooked supporting strip 34, whereby the feed troughs are detaohably mounted in position. The upper edges of the sidewalls of each feed trough are formed with outturned flanges 45, and the upper edge of the rear wall thereof with a flange 46. A cover plate 47 is provided to close the open top of the trough through which the food is introduced, and this cover is provided with hooked side edges 48 to engage the flanges 45 and with a rear hooked edge 49 to engage the flange 46', by which the cover may be applied and rernoved in an obvious manner.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the ziccornpanying drawings, the construotion andnnode ofuse of my improved brooder will be readily understood,

and it will beseen that the invention provides a simple constrction of brooder of the take-apart type which may be'readily assembled foruse and disassembled forpack age in close eonnpass ior storage or transpor- Also it will be seen that the construction disclosed provides substantial advant-ages in "the eontrol of-the doorway and supply of food and drink.

A guard'50 is secured to the rear wall 4 to overhang the wells ofthe watering and eed troughs to permit the hen to insert her head beneath the san 1e and into the wells, while preventing her fro1n stepping into the wells and scattering the water andood.

I claim 1. A brooder comprising a bottom wall having depending flan ges at its front, rear and side edges, side wallshaving outwardly extending flanges of their upper ed es and hooked flanges at their front, rear an d lower edges, the latter engaging the side flanges of the bottom wall, rontand rear walls having respeetively outwardly, and inwardly extending flanges at their upper edges and hooked flanges at their side edges engaging the front and rear flanges of the side walls, and 21 top wa1l adapted to rest upon the fianges at the upper edges of the front and rear walls and having sio1e flanges engaging the fianges at the upper edges of the sde walls, end a rear down bent flange overhanging and projecting beyond the in wardly bent flange at the upper edge of the rear wa1l.

2. A brooder having 21, doorway, above and be1ow the doorway, and inner, intermediate and outer doors arranged for movement in said guides in parallel relation, the inner door being imperforate, the inter- 1nediate door having openings of a certain size, and the outer door having openings of a difl'erent size, said inner and intermediate doors having outwardly bent finger pieces at one side and said outer door having outwardly bent flanges at its opposite sides, the said flanges anc1 finger piees of the doors frictionally engaging the outer walls of the guideways.

3. A brooder provided in one of its wa11s with en opening, a hooked retaining strip upon bhe exterior of said Wal1 above said opening, en inclined guard upon the interior guides of said wa1l above the opening, a reeeptaole having 2L disoharge outlet at its lower end and a downwardly extending hooked flange at its upper forward edge to engage said retaining strip, and provided with a we1l or open eompartrnent communicatng with said outlet and adapted to extend into the brood chamber through the opening in said wa1l anc1 below said inclined guarl.

4. A brooder having one of its walls provided with a plurality of openings, a hooked supporting strip upon the exterior of said Wal1 extending lengchwise above said opening, a downwardly inclined guard upon the inner side of the wa1l also extending lengthwise above the openings, and a, plurality of receptacles eaoh having a downwardly projecting flange at its upper front edge to engage said strip and provided with wells adapted to project through the opening into the brooder ancl be1ow said inclined guard.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIA1V[ T. FAUST.

Witnesses HARRY LEE, Loms IOZORIK. 

